University of California Berkeley - Blue and Gold Yearbook (Berkeley, CA)

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do is puit of their learning cxpeiicnce. Accoiding ui Dclira Harrington, the purpose oi ' graduate sehool is to train the graduate students for roles as future i ' aeultv. The role of a graduate student instruetor is modeled after the role ot a stu- dent instruetor in piiniar and secondary educational settings. It gi es the GSTs experience in the field. While teaching courses or discussion sessions, the students gain subject knowl- edge and participate in work with the laculiv. The University feels that collective bargaining is not appropriate for this educational setting, according to lesus Mena oi the Public Re- lations Office. The collective bargaining rights would give graduate students the ability to make any demands that they IN FRONT o ' f k ' Miiriii! Luther King Ir. Sludeiil Union, llieac OSls arc picketing for the right to unionize. Ciniduiitc students icach 10 ' !• of primary classes and Ib v of discussions. AS REFLECTED )y( ;t ' posters carried )y the protesting CSIs. many graduate students feel that they are under- appreciated for their role in undergraduate education. want. .According to L ' C President Richard Atkinson, this could he distLirhing to the acadeniic system and to the education (.)! the graduate students. The graduate student at Berkeley are the highest paid out i.il all public univer- sities, including those in which graduate students are unionized. According to a fact sheet published bv the University, onlv four private universities, out ol 1 1 that compete with Berkelev for graduate stu- i dents, pay higher stipends to graduate stu- I dents. There is also a grievance procedure ' for GSI ' s with concerns, lesus Mena said that the University recognizes that there are legitimate issues in certain units where the graduate students carry a lot ol the load, but they feel that this can be handled internalh and doesn ' t require a union. On .April 27-29. the graduate students voted to unionize. .Approximately 70 percent of GSI ' s voted for the union with about a 70 percent turnout at the elections. The Universitv will still reserve the right to make decisions about acadeniic judge- ment, but w ill bargain over employment issues. Onlv time will tell whether unionization will help or hinder the educational system at Berkelev. gsi strike I ?

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m; SE ERALgnuhuitc sliiileiils carry ' signs lamenting the money being wasted fighting the unionization of GSIs. The University is concerned that collective bargaining woidd disturb the graduate students ' learning experience as an instructor Working Rights By Diana Chai REVERSING A 16-YEAR OPPOSITION TO COLLECTIVE BARGAINING FOR GRADUATE STUDENT instructors. UC President Richard Atkinson announced on March 25, 1999 that the UC campuses with GSIs will hold elections to see if graduate students want to unionize. The unixersiiy v ill not oppose the board ' s decision to order these elections and ' ill respect the choice made by the students at each campus, said Atkinson. These events follow the court ruling that teaching assistants are employees with union rights. The graduate students at UCLA have since voted to be represented by the Student Association of Graduate Employees Union. The reversal of position also marks the end of a long struggle to gain collective bargain- ing rights on the part of the students. Many of the GSI ' s aren ' t griping about money, but power. Graduate students want to be recognized for the work they put into leaching students and the imporiance of their role. Many GSIs feel that they are undervalued and overworked. I know I ' m being taken advantage of, said Anni Kirkland, a legal studies GSI. Kirkland goes on to say, I am definitely a student. But 1 am also a worker who is giving the University something valuable. Graduate students teach 10 percent of the primary classes and 7b percent of the discussion sessions. Al- though they are paid for 20 hours of work per week, they often irk ihicc times that amount. GSIs do much of the grading in classes and are an integral part of undergraduate education. Maii cmly want to have the rights of a working group who con- iributes [o the University, including the right to unionize. A 4- da strike from December I to December 4, 1999 was aimed at gaining public awareness of these problems. Many graduate stu- dents were seen picketing around Sproul plaza and other heavily trafficked areas of campus. Although it was feared that the strike would interrupt undergraduate education around finals time. •f many GSIs continued to hold office hours. The strike was ended i after a bO day cooling off period was agreed upon. The University ' s position is that the work graduate stutlents 7 features

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Ethnic Studies Under Attack. What do we do? Act Up Fight Back copy by Diana Chai FIGHT BACK THE ' DID. BERKELEY STUDENTS, BOTH IN THE ETHNIC STUDIES DEPARTMENT and oul. showing the fire and passion that characterized iheir predecessors in the 60 ' s and 70 ' s by rallying to save the dwindling ethnic studies department. Through protests, rallies, and hunger strikes, students gained . community support and awareness, which uliimately led to an agreement with the University to strengthen the department through y funding and the hiring of new professors. Reminiscent of past demonstrations, the protests started on the 50 year anniversary of the creation of the ethnic studies department. Ethnic studies at Berkeley was the first of its kind at Universities across the nation. It was created as a result of stiikes by the Third World Liberation Front in the spring semester of 1 969. The Third World Strike lasted for over two months and crippled the campus. Numerous clashes occurred between students and police during the takeover of campus and continued until an agreement was reached. Students once again feel that ethnic studies is being threatened. A pamphlet handed out by protestors claimed that the program is in a state of regression and is near extinction. According the pamphlet, there are currently no full-time Native American Studies professors, and by next year, there will only be one full time professor in the Chicano Studies department. Retiring professors are not being replaced. A letter to student leaders states that the department recently received a $300,000 budget slash ( 1 3 of its overall budget), forcing the cancellation of 1 5 ' v of its undergraduate classes including Latino Politics. Chinese American History, People of Mixed Racial Descent, Making Histoi Making Indians, and Intro lo Lesbian. Gay, and Bisexual studies. Chancellor Robert Berdahl disagrees with the piotestors ' claims. It is not accurate to say there has been a whittling away. he lold the DaiK Californian. In a document posted on the University web page, the University affirms its support of the ethnic studies program. The administration reports that it has not cut the number ol 2 C features